Mixed Challenges
by CaitieCait101
Summary: This is a collection of oneshots that qualify for multiple challenges, all for Harry Potter. Most should be well within Rated T (I don't even read Rated M, so writing it would be a bit of a stretch. As usual, I don't own Harry Potter.
1. A Flower and Her Emeralds

_Hey, so, since I'm absolutely insane, I went through and signed up for live five thousand challenges/boot camps… Maybe it will keep me both inspired/motivated enough not to disappear on you guys again?_

 _So, for the_ _ **If You Dare Challenge**_ _by berryandlisa, the prompt I'm using is "Betrayal."_

 _For the_ _ **Restricted Section Challenge**_ _by A Sirius Crush On Moony, the prompt was to write a romance story._

 _For the_ _ **Story in a Word**_ _ **Challenge**_ _by TheSuperGirl, the prompt I've chosen is "_ _ **desiderium**_ _\- (n.) an ardent desire or longing, particularly for something once had and now missed; a feeling of grief or regret for the absence or loss of something or someone_ _[latin]"_

 _For the_ _ **Emotion Challenge**_ _also by A Sirius Crush On Moony, I'm using the emotion of Jealousy._

 _For the_ _ **Ten Times Ten Challenge**_ _by She who is made of stars, I'm using the prompt of Jealousy._

 _For the_ _ **Choose-Your-Wand Challenge**_ _by Medicine Cat of the Opera, I'm filling the prompt for Ebony – Write about a Death Eater._

 _For the_ _ **200 Characters in 200 Days Challenge**_ _by Sable Supernova, I'm writing about Severus Snape (number 79)_

 _For the_ _ **"Stories of Colours" Challenge**_ _by Screaming Faeries. The colors I chose are emerald and chestnut._

 _*Note: I'm not entirely sure about the combination of some; I couldn't for sure find the rules of combining for some of the Challenges. If one of them aren't combination-friendly, I'll deal with it accordingly._

 _ **Disclaimer**_ _: I don't own Harry Potter,_

 _A Flower and Her Emeralds_

Laughter. Smiles. Happiness.

He closed his eyes tightly, avoiding the sight before him, not that it would've helped any. He knew exactly what it was, what it _always_ was. They'd be sitting there, the girl with emerald eyes and the boy with dark hair, having the time of their lives. Not like there were students trying to study or anything. He'd entertained the thought of reporting the couple for being a distraction, but had ended up throwing it out. She was the perfect student; no teacher would criticize her (no matter who was with her).

He hated it. One mistake. One mistake was all that it had taken. One mistake had ripped her away from him forever. No, not even that. One _word_. Utter rage consumed him. Six years of friendship, of complete loyalty, complete devotion. All ruined by one little _word_. Eight letters. Eight. Shouldn't he be allowed some room for error? Apparently not.

And look where it'd gotten her now. All that effort he'd put into protecting was all for naught. Seemingly the moment that their connection had crumbled, she had run to the arrogant little brat. It was pathetic. The boy that she'd claimed to absolutely despise was now nearly always by her side. Sickening.

Her resolve had dissipated, but that didn't mean that his had done the same. She _would_ see the truth. She _would_ change her mind. _She had to_. It was only fair, after all. He hadn't _had_ to take her under his wing to show her all that she could be. He hadn't _had_ to stay by her side and do his best to shield her from any and all harm. He hadn't even _had_ to be her friend. He'd just been _that nice_. So how does she return the favor? By leaving him over a simple accident and deciding to go to his _enemy_. If this was her idea of revenge…

He'd apologized, _hadn't he?_ He'd told her that he was _sorry_ – when he hadn't even had to do that much. She shouldn't be angry with him at all. After all, it had been _her fault_ in the first place. She _was_ the one that had completely overreacted. It was _one word_. Yet she had acted like it was enough to negate _six years_ of nothing but genuine kindness. It was infuriating.

Eyes open once more, he glared as he watched the boy brush a strand of hair away from her emerald eyes. Those eyes belonged to _him_. Not that boy, never that boy. The emeralds weren't _for_ him. He'd found them _first_. They weren't _for_ anyone else. But then she smiled, saying something that he was too far away to hear. It was just as well. Whatever she had said wasn't important; this was all just a phase. The boy with the chestnut eyes would make _his own_ mistake – only much worse than a single word – and she would realize how childishly she had behaved. She would come running back to her _best friend_. It was just a matter of time. Just a matter of time.

She would realize that it wasn't he that had made the mistake – that the fault was all hers. Then _she_ would be the one apologizing and pleading for forgiveness. And, despite her selfishness, he wouldn't hesitate. He would show her just how much _better_ he was. Because he _was_ better. He _was_.

(LINE BREAK)

Then it happened. They were in a fight. He could hear them screaming at one another – not that they were being discreet. He couldn't hide his grin. Here it was, what he'd been waiting for since the start of the whole nightmare. The end.

But she never came. A few days later, she was back, sitting with the chestnut-eyed boy as though all was right with the world. As though she _hadn't_ just committed a great injustice. What could have possessed her to forgive the arrogant one so quickly when she wouldn't even give _him_ , the _selfless_ one, a passing glance? Because everything he'd done throughout those six years had been for her. All for her. Never had he once thought of himself, instead making sure that she was happy and passing all of her classes. What more could she _want_? The other one hadn't done _any of that_. He'd been nothing but a nuisance, up until the fateful incident.

It wasn't her fault though, he realized. She was innocent in all of this. It was that boy. That boy with the chestnut eyes. He'd _corrupted_ her. His precious flower with the beautiful emeralds. He'd taken her and _ruined_ her. There was no other explanation. That was the only answer for the drastic change of heart. He had to fix it, had to save her.

(LINE BREAK)

He got his chance, years later. His chance to, finally, spare her of that boy. That awful, wretched boy who'd destroyed his emerald-eyed flower.

He'd given the message to his superior, with the plea that she wasn't to be harmed. That she would be spared. His superior, despite his lack of mercy, had agreed to idea. He had no use for the girl with the emerald eyes, only the kid.

He hadn't asked for the boy, the one with chestnut eyes, to be spared. It would be a pleasure for him to be gone. There was no need for him or the kid, just the girl. The girl was the only one that mattered.

(LINE BREAK)

Pure hatred. That was all that he felt. He could've sworn that the chestnut-eyed boy was laughing, wherever he'd ended up. His precious, precious emeralds. They had been horrendously marred, nearly beyond recognition. That awful boy had led to the ruin of their beauty. Instead of being framed by flames, they were now framed by ash. Nothing beautiful existed to accompany the beautiful gems any longer, which was just as well.

The girl's mistakes had, ultimately, led to her demise. The flower had wilted, and it was none but the flower's fault. He could see that now. Had she been more sensible, she would have been his. And had she been his, then she would still be alive. Gorgeous and pure. Instead, she had died, tainted.

Still, he couldn't manage to find fault with her. Perhaps something so clean, so perfect, was never meant to withstand the clutches of time. He could understand that much.

 _Word Count: 1,061_

 _Hey, so I'm not sure how clearly the 'jealousy' part came out… but I'm always very critical of my writing so I don't know. If it doesn't qualify, let me know and I'll try it again sometime later (with a different story, of course)._

 _The betrayal part, for the_ _ **If You Dare Challenge**_ _, initially had me wanting to write about Remus after Sirius told Severus about the werewolf thing (well, that's pretty much how it went, anyway). Which I always try to not go with my first instinct on things. So, I thought about other approaches I could take, and this happened. Hope you guys all enjoyed this!_


	2. All That Glitters

_Hey, so this is another challenge. Enjoy!_

 _For_ ** _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)_** _, I'm using the prompt form the first Charms assignment, which is to write about someone who feels as if the weight of the world has been lifted off their shoulders._

 _For the_ _ **200 characters in 200 days challenge**_ _, I'm writing about Sirius Black, number 46._

 _For the_ _ **Pokemon Trading Card Challenge**_ _, the prompt is to write about a non canonical Gryffindor being sorted into Gryffindor. (That's from the 'card' of Chimchar)_

 _For the_ _ **Emotion Challenge**_ _, I chose Proud._

 _And, finally, for the_ _ **If You Dare Challenge**_ _, the prompt I'm using is 'The Future Is What We Make Of It.'_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own Harry Potter._

 _All That Glitters_

" _Gryffindor!_ "

His heart stopped. He couldn't hear any of it. He couldn't hear the cheers of his friends. Couldn't hear the disbelieving laughter of half the student body. Couldn't hear the yells of the Slytherins. It was all Sirius could do to focus on his brother, now pulling the hat off and making his way unsteadily to his new house. The boy wasn't smiling, but his happiness was clear. It shone in his eyes.

He hadn't seen his brother that way for years. Not since the days of early childhood had he been so _happy_. There was an undertone of hesitancy, but despite that, he sat next to his fellow first years. It was a familiar image – a young Black sitting at a table, with people, that blood dictated he should never be allowed to. And yet, _there he was_. Sitting and smiling, talking with people who could possibly be _real friends_ to him. Something that would have been highly unlikely with the Slytherins that he'd once expected to be with.

Sirius's instinctual reaction was to be thrilled with the turnout, and he was, but he was smart enough to be sad, too. He knew what Regulus's new house meant. He'd been on the receiving end of those consequences, and he still was. Their parents and family wouldn't stand for it. They would never let either boy hear the end of it.

"He did it, Sirius!" Reality came crashing back as he turned to face his three friends. A grin tugged at his lips. "He did it!" James's eyes shone with pure happiness and relief.

He nodded, laughing. "I know, mate, I know." Regulus would be okay. If he was strong enough to want Gryffindor, then he was strong enough to know how to handle everything that would be thrown at him. That realization allowed him to feel it, the emotion that was just begging to be felt. Relief. Pure and utter relief coursed through his veins. Sure, it was possible that he might still turn out to be a death eater, but it was _much_ more unlikely with the influences that would now be in his life. He didn't have to worry for his brother nearly as much as he had before.

It wasn't just his concern anymore. Even now, he could see friendships being forged between the boy and other first years. He smiled. Not five minutes after he'd turned to his friends and food, did he hear his name.

"Sirius!" He turned to face his brother, smiling.

"Hey, kid. Look at you!" Regulus had gotten a scarf somewhere – possibly from one of his new friends – that put Gryffindor's colors on display. The scarlet and gold mixture looked good on him. It looked _right._ "You're a lion now."

The eleven year old grinned, bobbing his head up and down. "Yeah, I am! People here are _so cool_. Kind of weird, but cool."

James laughed, "Yeah, but that's our charm. Welcome to Gryffindor. I'm James Potter."

"Your Siri's blood traitor friend!" His tone had none of the venom the words would typically warrant. It didn't really matter, because James faltered anyway.

Remus was quick to interject, attempting to diffuse the situation. "I'm Remus Lupin and this is Peter Pettigrew. We're also friends of your brother."

"Cool, it's nice to meet you." They talked for a few more seconds before the kid took off back toward his new friends.

Sirius smiled. Yeah, the two brothers had a long path before them, but at least they could be there for one another. He'd hardly dared to hope for something so wonderful, and yet here it was. For the first time that day, he allowed himself to relax. They'd face their family later. For now, he was going to be happy. Truly happy.

 _Word Count: 631_

 _Hey, so yeah. That was a little what-if situation. Hope that you guys enjoyed it!_


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